Padres draft Southeast Missouri State pitcher Lucchesi in fourth round

Joey Lucchesi was totally caught off guard.

He'd stepped into the kitchen at his family's home in Newark, California, to make himself something to eat, thinking that a couple more rounds of the MLB Draft would pass before he heard his name called when it happened.

The Southeast Missouri State left-handed pitcher heard his name coming from the TV and then the exclamation's from his family members. He ran back to the living room, nearly falling down in the process, to see for himself that he'd been selected by the San Diego Padres in the fourth round on Friday afternoon.

"My mom's screaming, everyone's screaming and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh!'" Lucchesi said. "Dream come true."

Lucchesi was the 114th overall selection of the draft, becoming the highest pick in Southeast history. Left-handed pitcher Galen McSpadden previously held that recognition. He was drafted by the Padres in the sixth round with the 121st overall pick in 1974.

"My mom went crazy. Like she was screaming," Lucchesi said. "My girlfriend was screaming when my name got called. I was told from my adviser that I possibly could go like sixth round or lower, then they surprised us and called me in the fourth round, and I was like, 'Wow, this is amazing.'"

Lucchesi, who surprisingly went undrafted following his junior season, had scouts in attendance anytime he pitched as a senior, and wasn't surprised the Padres drafted him.

"The Padres had been the team that's been super interested in me, more than others, throughout the whole year," Lucchesi said. "They stayed in touch more than other teams would, and they've just been calling me more than other teams the last few days. They were calling me a bunch Thursday -- during the first and second round they were calling me a lot. They seemed really concerned about me, and you could tell that they wanted me. My adviser said, 'Get ready, because this is your day.'"

Lucchesi grew up an Oakland Athletics fan, but said he has "love for California teams." He's slated to report to Phoenix, Arizona, to find out where he'll begin his professional career.

"It's a great opportunity getting to play at the next level," Lucchesi said. "This is my dream and I'm actually finally getting able to do it. I know they're a great organization. I'm going to put in a lot of hard work, they're going to teach me a lot. They told me I'm going to fit in their program pretty well, and I'm going to trust everyone in their program.

"I'm going to work hard and I'm going to become a way better pitcher, which is pretty dangerous."

The Chabot College transfer put together a stellar two-year career for the Redhawks. He became the first player to ever repeat as the Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year after posting a 10-5 record with a conference-best 2.19 ERA.

Southeast coach Steve Bieser is confident that Lucchesi will settle in nicely to his new life of professional baseball.

"I think him just finding his way and carving his path and kind of staying consistent with what's got him to where he's been able to get his game to right now is the biggest key for him," Bieser said.

He became Southeast's all-time career leader in strikeouts with 242, surpassing Southeast Hall of Fame pitcher Trae Hasting, who had 239 from 1975 to 1978.

His 149 strikeouts led all of Division I baseball and also broke both the Southeast and OVC single-season records. He broke Ryan Spille's record of 130 from 1998 and Tennessee Tech's Todd Kemp's record of 133 from 1986. He tied the Redhawks' single-game strikeout record with 17 against Murray State on April 28.

"To have a fourth-round pick and kind of set that bar at the fourth round, the earliest that we've had a guy picked in the program, that's continual improvement that we see in our program," Bieser said. "We're trying to elevate the program to a place that it's never been before, and that's a step in the right direction to get a fourth-round pick. There's other things that we want to continue to do to elevate this program, though."

Lucchesi, who was part of two OVC regular-season championship teams and helped lead the team to its first OVC tournament title and NCAA regional berth since 2002, also became the program's first Louisville Slugger first-team All-American and was a third-team All-American by Baseball America.

"My two years at SEMO I'll never forget," Lucchesi said. "It was a blessing and gave me a chance to be the player I am and develop on the field, which is what I wanted -- to be the best player I could be. They gave me a chance to play at the next level, and here I am, I'm getting that chance. They allowed me to prosper and bloom on the field and I'll never forget all the coaches and teammates. I'm really thankful for them for guiding me on the right path and [allowing me] to hang around positive people. It's a really positive program."